Tag Archives: Forest

Walking through the forest, a seasoned hiker came upon a broad, slowly moving river. He stopped to gaze over the waters, appreciating the beauty, when suddenly he heard a faint cry coming from upstream. Looking in the direction of the noise, he saw an obviously drowning man floundering in the river and drifting slowly toward him.

The hiker was stunned momentarily, but he sprang into action when he saw the man disappear beneath the waters. Throwing off all of his cumbersome gear, he dove into the river and swam like a madman toward the spot where the man went under.

Upon reaching the spot he plunged below the surface and frantically hauled up the helpless man. Then he laboriously towed the victim to shore. Heaving the lifeless body up on the riverbank, the hiker attempted to revive the man, who eventually spit up water and began to breathe.

Relieved, the hiker paused to catch his breath. But no sooner had he done so than he heard another voice out on the water. Another drowning person! Once again he swam out and pulled the person to shore, a little more slowly this time. As the hiker-turned-lifeguard revived the second victim, he heard yet another cry for help.

All day long the hiker worked, rescuing one person after another as they came drifting down the river, headed upstream. “Hey mister!” he cried out. “Please help me! These poor people are drowning!”

Amazingly, the man kept walking upstream. The astonished hiker called out again. Without even acknowledging the cry, the man kept going. Indignant and angry, the hiker leapt to his feet, ran toward the uncompassionate man, stood directly in his part, and in a loud voice demand, “Sir! How can you possible walk past all these drowning people? Have you no conscience? Must I force you to help me save these people?

“The stranger stopped, looked at him for the first time and said with a calm, focused voice, “Sir, please get out of my way. I am headed upstream to stop the guy who is pushing all these people in.”

Each of us has a role to play in rescuing those who are drowning in sin. Some of us pull people from the water and resuscitate them with counsel0ing, food and shelter, a rehabilitation program, a support group, or financial aid. Affirm those doing these important ministries.

Others of us find our place of ministry upstream, opposing the one pushing people into the river. We do this by introducing those people to Jesus Christ. Knowing Christ sets a person free from sin and releases them from Satan’s power over them.

But itself, pulling people from the water isn’t enough. We need to go upstream and help people deal with the problem of sin at its source.- Beacon

Good Morning friends. It’s a pleasure to know that India will join rich nations’ group to protect forests. We all know that some forest had been forgotten to protect. Many will say that forest has no use in our daily life. Literally yes, but our forest has a big role in nature. Trees that grew there more than a 100 years helps us when there will be a disaster, like flood.

India, along with five other developing countries, has joined a group of five rich nations to work on a Rs 1,600-crore project to fight climate change through forest management.

The six developing countries — Brazil, Congo, Morocco, Nepal and Romania — have joined the group comprising US, Australia, Britain, Denmark and Norway under the governing body of the Forest Investment Programme (FIP).

This signals the commitment of these countries to a unique partnership to combat climate change through forest management, the World Bank said.

“This new programme will provide much-needed upfront investment to developing countries and forest-dependent communities to help them prepare for and benefit from financial flows for the sustainable management of forests,” said Eduardo Saboia, who represented Brazil in the series of FIP design meetings. The FIP Trust Fund Sub-Committee will meet in Washington for the first time on October 29 to begin implementation of the programme. It will also work on criteria for selecting pilot countries and regions. The FIP governance structure is among the first in a new generation of partnerships among developing and developed countries and other stakeholders which takes account of the need for a level playing field in addressing climate action, the bank said.

“These should lead to replicable models resulting in effective forest management, improved forest governance and information systems, restoration and sustainable management of degraded forests,” it said. Pilot programmes will be chosen by taking into account country distribution across regions.

“Rampant, large scale deforestation produces more carbon emissions than the entire world’s planes, ships and cars combined,” said Douglas Alexander, secretary of state for International Development for UK, which has pledged up to £100 million (Rs 772 crore) for the FIP. – AhmedabadMirror